#it's hard to believe that you wouldn't have come across anything they made if you're halfway active in the nif fandom in 2021. but.

[secretlovezz]

Sun and Moon

Sunshine!Eddie Munson x grumpy!reader

Summary: The guys just can't beleive that Eddie is dating you

Warnings: None.

Wordcount: 1,132

When Eddie had originally told the group that he started dating you the majority of them had laughed in disbelief; cackles mockingly echoing throughout the cafeteria, and no matter what he said to try and prove it their doubts overshadowed facts much to Eddie's annoyance because you? Miss dark and brooding? Miss doesn’t talk to anyone? The girl who would rather glare than smile? Yeah right. Eddie finding someone who wants to date him is one thing but you finding someone to date let alone someone as energetic as Eddie was downright unbelievable. 

It was a given that most people chose to stay away from you, the constant furrow of your brows and the tension forever prominent in your body language was enough to imply that others should steer clear. The manner in which you spoke to peers was monotonous and sharp, straight to the point in a way that didn't hide the displeasure you felt when conversing. Even to the people in Hellfire, you were weird and kind of mean. 

They have never even seen the two of you interact with each other during school or outside of it, never even seen the two of you so much as look at each other, so, of course, they've all come to the conclusion that Eddie must be lying. 

A scowl paints the metalhead's face, "Wait why is it so hard to believe?" Creases litter Eddie's face in place of his genuine confusion. To him, the two of you made perfect sense. You weren't much of a talker preferring to listen rather than speak and he seemed to be the only one who truly understood that, he spoke enough for the both of you, talking your ear off with a wide enthusiastic grin etched across his pale face while his hands and arms flared with a theatrical drama that made whatever he spoke about all the more entertaining; chocolate eyes watch for your every reaction, searching for the soft grin that always seems to form at the sound of his voice. He knew that the frown always decorating your face would never be pointed seriously at him for no matter the amount he "annoyed" you are never angry with him, it's your natural expression pretty lips almost always down turned into what Eddie deemed, "the cutest pout he's ever seen". Your glare was never off-putting to him. And yeah maybe you were a little snarky and glum but it never bothered him the way it bothered everyone else, he knew you well enough to understand why you were the way you are and even if he didn't, who was he to judge?

The laughter working its way around the table dies down at the seriousness on their friend's face, they all take peeks at each other to see who might speak first, but suddenly no one is brave enough to speak out.

His eyes dart to look at all of his friends whose eyes no longer look at him and his long wild hair sways lightly with the movement, "Well?" One of his brows snaps up in question. In his head, he still works to figure out what the problem is. I mean why wouldn't he be with you? You're his dream girl. A total beauty, drop-dead gorgeous girl with the brains to match, if anything he felt he didn't deserve you. Maybe they thought that too.

Mike opens his mouth to speak up but before he can get anything out you appear behind Eddie, as if you knew someone was speaking about you. One of your hands makes its way up to finger at his frizzy hair, your usual scowl deepening when you see the frown on your boyfriend's face and that glare in your eyes has the rest of the group inching to the edge of their seats away from the head of the table.

Round excited eyes now devoid of whatever aggravation look up at you with excitable admiration, Eddie leans into your touch so that the tip of your fingers graze the warming skin of his cheek instead of his hair. You look down at him for a moment tracing the slope of his nose with a touch so loving the others swore they watched him melt in his seat. Your stare is back to them in only a moment, “Hello.” Your free hand raises in an attempt to give them a friendly wave but the kindness doesn't reach your eyes and the down turn of your lips leaves them more unsettled than welcomed.

Their dungeon master is more than happy to greet you though, twisting his body so that he can face you a little more. One of his large hands makes its way around your waist and under your shirt to squeeze at your hip and he digs his head into the side of your body like his being skin to skin with you was not enough, “Hey beautiful, what's up?” The toothy grin he gives you is like the sun itself shining and the warmth envelopes you. His voice is smooth and soft, having lowered the orotund tone that he usually uses when with friends. The fingers braced along your hip pinch and pull gently at your skin.

You look down, almost shyly in a way that the others have never seen from you before, “Got bored… and I wanted to see you.” Dustin swears that Eddie practically lights up like fireworks at your admission arm bringing you impossibly closer to him, and somehow his smile widens so broad that they worry about the ache that might form along his cheek bones, but Eddie can't help that you make him incomprehensibly happy even from your dreary voice. The more he smooshes his head into your side the messier his hair becomes but he doesn't seem to mind at the moment just glad that you wanted to see him bad enough to come up to him at school, especially because you weren't one for voicing your wants. You're working on it though. 

“Aw, baby, you missed me? That's cute,” he loved to tease you, absolutely adored the way it made you scrunch your nose in faux disgust, you can't fool him though- he knows you love it, “I missed you too.”

Your eyes roll but Eddie knows that your cheeks are warming in response to his words, “Shut up.”

Your boyfriend looks away from you to his friends, though he still sneaks glances as he's never been able to keep his eyes away from you for very long, his grin shifts into a smirk content with the shocked look that paints all of their faces. He pulls you into his lap as if to further his point that you're actually his and cockily asked, “Believe me now?”

[archangeldyke-all]

Sevika and tarotreader!reader. Reader showing up in Zaun all of a sudden. Basically taking residence in a dark corner of the last drop. Sevika may have seen them from the corner of the eye but never played much mind until rumors spread that their prediction always come true. Sevika, who may not believe in fate, is intrigued.

i love this so much hehehe

men and minors dni

technically, all magic, whether it's derived from the arcane, divination, or religion; is outlawed in piltover and zaun.

technically.

but realistically, you and every other person you know with any kind of magical gift are highly valued commodities for the wealthy families in the city.

you see, good business decisions and solutions to political struggles are rarely born out of human ingenuity. nine times out of ten, if the city of progress is making any progress at all; it's because the powerful and wealthy have double and triple checked with their various psychics, priests, and mages that whatever they have planned will be beneficial to them, too.

for a while, you made some real good money working as mrs. kirraman's personal tarot reader.

you were under the assumption that because you avoided consulting her on any political or financial matter, that your background as a zaunite wouldn't come into question when you give your (sometimes hard to hear) fortunes and advice.

but when the cards started letting you in on secrets mrs. kirraman wasn't keen on letting out ((and yes i'm talking about @micronreadzztuff22 's garnet-- an oc that's having an affair with cassanda eheh)) the woman you once admired for her ventilation systems in your home city shows you a nasty side of herself.

"mrs. kirraman... i don't mean to accuse you of anything... but the cards are asking you to be careful about any secrets you might not want getting out."

"pardon?" the woman asked, her face paling in the candlelight.

"i... i worry your husband's growing suspicious of y-your... loyalty."

"what, exactly, are you accusing me of?"

"i'm not judging you, ma'am, and i promise you all my clients have my full confidenti--"

"who put you up to this?!"

"n-nobody. it's in the cards."

"oh, i should've known better than to trust some scamming sump-rat--"

"ex-cuse me?! mrs. kirraman, i've been advising you for three years, and the cards have never led you or i astray--"

"i recommend you shut your mouth and leave the premise before i call for security." she said as she stormed out of the room.

so, that was the end of that gig. you left the premise in the strong arms of a kirraman guard, muttering about summoning janna and cursing the family and woman. of course, you aren't capable of casting curses, but you enjoyed the spooked look your empty threats got out of her as you were dragged off of her property.

it's for the best. or at least, that's what the cards tell you.

you've got a little shop set up in the undercity now, just across the street from the last drop in the heart of zaun. your busiest hours are the evenings when people stumble out of the bar, a little buzzed and needing some advice.

business is fine. you're happy to be working back at home. you just can't help but feel like you're missing something.

and then you meet sevika.

from the moment she steps into your shop, you know she's gonna be trouble for you. she's all skeptical and guarded, looking at you like she can't tell if you're crazy or scamming her. it's hilarious.

"care for a reading?" you ask.

she raises an eyebrow at you. "...so are you a psychic or...?"

you chuckle. "a tarot reader. i don't read minds, just cards."

"hm." sevika sits down at the counter. "alright, fine. how much are you chargin'?" she asks. you chuckle.

"depends how hard your question is."

"what am i doin' tomorrow night?" sevika asks. you roll your eyes and shake your head, pulling two cards. wheel of fortune and the devil. you chuckle.

"gambling?" you guess.

sevika smirks. "easy guess."

"fuck off. you got a question or what?" you ask. sevika sighs.

"what do you know about silco?"

"i told you i'm not a psychic--"

"no no--" sevika cuts you off with a laugh. "i mean, you've heard of him, right?"

"sure." you say, nodding.

"he... might be interested in hiring you as an advisor." sevika mutters. you chuckle.

"you don't sound too happy about it."

"i don't believe in psychics."

"oh, janna, this is gonna be miserable, isn't it?" you groan. sevika huffs a laugh.

it isn't until you've been working with silco for a full month that sevika starts to respect your predictions' accuracy.

it takes another month for her to start being friendly to you.

and then, by month three, sevika's one of your closest friends.

and she asks for a reading.

"you sure you trust me?" you ask with a giggle as you shuffle your deck. sevika huffs and rolls her eyes.

"i've seen the shit you predict for silco. you knew finn was gonna flip before we even knew he was upset. c'mon, give me your worst."

you chuckle a bit, then flip a card. "huh." you mumble. sevika raises an eyebrow at you.

"what?" she asks.

the lovers. you chuckle and shake your head. "you got a crush on anybody?" you ask, flipping another card as sevika sputters across the desk.

"wh-- do i-- what the fuck are you talking about?" sevika's eyes are darting around the room like she's nervous, or something, and you don't understand why she's suddenly so antsy until you look down at your cards.

the high priestess. "oh." you giggle.

sevika's eyes fly to yours and she groans. "shoulda known better than to ask the fuckin' psychic i'm crushin' on to give me a reading, huh?"

you laugh. "only if you were hoping i wouldn't find out."

"fuck. i thought you were gonna tell me to quit smoking or something."

you snort. "i can tell you that, i don't need the cards for it."

"well..." sevika grunts and flails her hands out.

"well?" you ask. she groans again.

"you gonna charge me double if i ask you another question?" she asks. you grin.

"depends what the question is."

"for fuck's sa-- will you go out with me?" sevika whines. you grin.

"i knew you were gonna be someone special to me."

"oh yeah?" sevika asks with a hesitant smile. "the cards tell you that?"

"nah. didn't need 'em to know that." you say with a shrug.

sevika grins, and your cards flutter to the ground as she darts across the table to kiss you.

taglist!

@fyeahnix @lavendersgirl @half-of-a-gay @thesevi0lentdelights @sexysapphicshopowner

@kissyslut @chuucanchuucan @badbye666 @femme-historian @lia-winther

@lavenderbabu @emiliabby @sevikasbeloved @hellorai @my-taintedheart

@glass-apothecary @macaroni676 @artinvain @k3n-dyll @sevsdollette

@ellieslob @xayn-xd @keikuahh @maneskinwh0re @raphaellearp

@iamastar @sevikitty @mascdom @nhaaauyen @annesunshiner

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@strawberrykidneystone @sevikasfan @fict1onallyobsessed @greenhazes

[bbina]

wonbin takes a long drag off his cigarette, letting the substance fill his lungs for another temporary escape from reality. he exhales the smoke and lets it curl around him before he fans the smoke away from his face

he takes another drag, his hands already raised to his mouth before he hears a familiar voice behind him. the voice he knows all too well to forget

"you know, a guy like you shouldn't be smoking"

wonbin's eyes widened and turns around at the speed of light to see you in the flesh

it was you

wonbin takes a good look at you. this was the first time he has seen you up close in months. the last time he saw you was when he dropped you off at the train station before midterm break started and that was the very last time he saw you since

sure you two lived across each other but wonbin had deliberately avoided you at all cost and you did the same. you can't even recall the last time you opened your window blinds since you came back from midterm break

"it's nice to see you! how have you been?" you smile, taking a seat next to him on the curb he was sitting on

wonbin couldn't believe his eyes and ears. it really was you and you just sat next to him like nothing happened between the two of you

".. i've been good. you?" wonbin answers quietly, diverting his attention back to the cigarette in his hands. if he stares at you longer, he wouldn't know how to act

"i'm doing really well actually. i feel like i finally found my spark again" you share, smiling at him slightly before looking up at the night sky

there was that weird sense of deja vu. this was exactly how you two met each other a few months ago and it almost feels surreal that it happened again but this time you two were in two completely different situations

you take note of the box of cigarettes next to him. the same brand you used to use when you did smoke. you can't help but think that he'd resort back to smoking because you two did make a pact before that you two would stop smoking if the latter stops

"you're smoking again" you comment

wonbin notices you staring at his cigarette. he quickly puts it out and shoves his hands into the pockets of his jacket

"sorry. old habit" he murmurs, unsure how to keep the conversation going when all he wanted to say was that he's sorry

you purse your mouth shut as you let the silence do the talking. the same silence that used to comfort you with each other. although you don't harbor any resentment towards wonbin anymore, you just can't help the awkwardness growing in the atmosphere

like there were so many words left unspoken that's waiting to be let out

what seems like a couple of minutes of silence, wonbin decides to break it

"hey" wonbin calls out softly, slowly raising his head to look at you

"hm?"

"i'm sorry" wonbin blurts out, "for everything"

there it was. the words you've been dreading to hear from him. you had already moved on from the situation a long time ago. you had accepted the fact that he wasn't ready yet and that you couldn't wait for someone who was still uncertain with themselves so you let it go

obviously it hurt the first time. it was hard during the first few weeks after midterm break. you were in a routine with wonbin during those months and adapting to a new normal wasn't that easy

but you had better company than you realize. you hung out more with your own friends and sion, who you'd say made your life so much brighter when he came into the picture

sion was so full of life. it honestly weirded you out the first time when he was so considerate of you and your feelings. he knew that you were going through something during midterm break and he didn't try anything but to comfort you as a friend

wonbin picks up on your silence and he drops his head low. he bites his lip as he comes up with more words to say. this is the perfect moment to tell you everything even if it won't change the past. he just needed you to hear him out

"i'm really sorry that i wasn't ready back then. it's just hard for me to accept the fact that you liked me and i was scared that–"

you hold your hand out in front of him, causing him to pause his apology. wonbin clamps his mouth shut, waiting for you to say something in case you wanted to address something but instead, you shake your head

"it's okay, bin" you chuckle, "that was in the past. if anything, i was in the wrong too for expecting"

expecting. ouch, that's gotta hurt. did he really make you feel that way without realizing?

wonbin opens his mouth to say something but you beat him to it

"we were naive back then now that i think about it" you start, recalling your shared memories with the man beside you. the same man who had your heart in his hands, "like the odds of two people who were relatively fresh out of a breakup meeting at a place like this. bonding over recent heartbreaks and all that stuff is quite rare and quite comforting in a way" you rambled

wonbin listens intently at your words, processing everything while reminiscing your time together

"if anything we found comfort in each other at the time" you turn to look at him in the eye, "the late night talks, the comfortable silence when we're together.. i wouldn't trade that experience for anything in the world"

"we were alone together, you know?" you smile, looking away from him, "even if we didn't work out in the end, i still felt a genuine connection with you"

wonbin just sits there in silence. the reality of you healed and moved on from whatever you two had was beyond him. there was nothing he can do about it anymore but dwell on the what ifs and what could've been with you

your conversation is cut short when your phone rings. you jolt in surprise before answering your phone

it was sion

"hello? is our ramen done? i'm outside!" wonbin watches you talk to your boyfriend on the phone. he can't help but feel his chest twist in pain that he could've be the one in sion's place if it weren't for his own selfishness

he thought that if he protected his heart, he wouldn't be hurt again but what happened was that he not only hurt himself but the girl who genuinely liked him

now all he can do is watch you from a distance. watch you be treated the way he was supposed to treat you

his train of thought gets cut off when you wave your hands in front of his face

"i gotta go wonbin. sion's inside the convenience store waiting for me. i'll see you around, okay?" you stood up from the curb, wiping your pants with your hands, "bye wonbin, it was nice seeing you again" you smile before walking inside the convenience store

wonbin watches you til the doors closed. he stares at the way sion kisses your cheek when you walked in the store

he forces himself to look away before the pain in his chest worsens. this hurt even more than the time his ex girlfriend ghosted him twice that he had developed a fear of commitment

yeah. this was way worse. to see your dream in a different reality

now all he can do is force himself to walk away from the convenience store. ironically enough the same place you two had met. the same place where everything started, he was now walking away from

maybe in alternate universe, you two had worked it out. maybe he wouldn't be scared of vulnerability. maybe, just maybe, in some alternate universe, you two would still be alone together.

alone together ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁 . . . alone together

── taking comfort in the thought that you are together in aloneness through late night talks, heartfelt confessions, and a genuine connection. with your shared experience of recent heartbreaks, you wonder if getting together would be all worth it. in which you find solace in each other's company, that you are alone together.

⋆｡˚ prev | main masterlist | alone together masterlist ˚｡

꩜ notes .ᐟ holy fucking shit.. its over...... i did it... i finally finished this shit show of a fanfic... SEVENTY FUCKING CHAPTERS, over 43k words overall.. I HAVE CROSSED THE FINISH LINE 😭 imma need a pat on the back for this cus holy SHIIIIIIIITTTTTTT im so proud of myself for finishing this cus it was a rollercoaster of emotions. if u made it this far then thank you sosososoososososoososo much for reading and enjoying my works 😭 it really means a lot to me that you guys genuinely enjoy my shit lawl. i wanted the ending to be real af as this fic is basically true to life except for the ending. i wanted to show a story where not all love stories end in happy endings, some end like this hence the ending i chose. to me, this is the happy ending and the sad ending is that yn ends up in the same cycle but thats another story for another day! again, thank you sosososo much for reading! until my next riize smau :] bbina OUT!

p.s if u guys are gonna reblog the masterlist, pls dont spoil what kind of ending it is 🙏 so people can react the same as you guys HSADHJASHJDASHJ

꩜ taglist .ᐟ @onlywonb @rosesfortaro @starwonb1n @wonychu @totheseok @dolloie @hyunjinsnumberonefun @binluvsu @onlyhyunjin @annswwa @pwbjsc @hakkkuu @ilovejungwonandhaechan @artstaeh @lecheugo @odxrilove @bunni @saranghoeforanton @nujeskz @quicksilverstone @kyusqult @nctsshoes2 @s9nwoo @daegale @palchokitty @dutifullyannoyingraspberry @oshakyao @koryutte @b-riize @wbyeolz @peterm4rker @winuvs @i03jae @rsatoru @enhacolor @dalliesque @sweetiejaeyun @dearestjake @cupidslovearrows @kkumistars @sngj08 @taroddori @ennycutie @sa3ha @koeuh @astro-doll-the-star @amouriu @mujeans @ijustreallylike2read @endtostartbreathin

[inkskinned]

you're grabbing lunch with a nice man and he gives you that strange grimace-smile that's popular right now; an almost sardonic "twist" of his mouth while he looks literally down on you. it looks like he practiced the move as he leans back, arms folded. he just finished reciting the details of NFTs to you and explaining Oppenheimer even though he only watched a youtube about it and hasn't actually seen it. you are at the bottom of your wine glass.

you ask the man across from you if he has siblings, desperately looking for a topic. literally anything else.

he says i don't like small talk. and then he smiles again, watching you.

a few years ago, you probably would have said you're above celebrity gossip, but honestly, you've been kind of enjoying the dumb shit of it these days. with the rest of the earth burning, there's something familiar and banal about dragging ariana grande through the mud. you think about jeanette mccurdy, who has often times gently warned the world she's not as nice as she appears. you liked i'm glad my mom died but it made you cry a lot.

he doesn't like small talk, figure out something to say.

you want to talk about responsibility, and how ariana grande is only like 6 days older than you are - which means she just turned 30 and still dresses and acts like a 13 year old, but like sexy. there's something in there about the whole thing - about insecurity, and never growing up, and being sexualized from a young age.

people have been saying that gay people are groomers. like, that's something that's come back into the public. you have even said yourself that it's just ... easier to date men sometimes. you would identify as whatever the opposite of "heteroflexible" is, but here you are again, across from a man. you like every woman, and 3 people on tv. and not this guy. but you're trying. your mother is worried about you. she thinks it's not okay you're single. and honestly this guy was better before you met, back when you were just texting.

wait, shit. are you doing the same thing as ariana grande? are you looking for male validation in order to appease some internalized promise of heteronormativity? do you conform to the idea that your happiness must result in heterosexuality? do you believe that you can resolve your internal loneliness by being accepted into the patriarchy? is there a reason dating men is easier? why are you so scared of fucking it up with women? why don't you reach out to more of them? you have a good sense of humor and a big ol' brain, you could have done a better job at online dating.

also. jesus christ. why can't you just get a drink with somebody without your internal feminism meter pinging. although - in your favor (and judgement aside) in the case of your ariana grande deposition: you have been in enough therapy you probably wouldn't date anyone who had just broken up with their wife of many years (and who has a young child). you'd be like - maybe take some personal time before you begin this journey. like, grande has been on broadway, you'd think she would have heard of the plot of hamlet.

he leans forward and taps two fingers to the table. "i'm not, like an andrew tate guy," he's saying, "but i do think partnership is about two people knowing their place. i like order."

you knew it was going to be hard. being non-straight in any particular way is like, always hard. these days you kind of like answering the question what's your sexuality? with a shrug and a smile - it's fine - is your most common response. like they asked you how your life is going and not to reveal your identity. you like not being straight. you like kissing girls. some days you know you're into men, and sometimes you're sitting across from a man, and you're thinking about the power of compulsory heterosexuality. are you into men, or are you just into the safety that comes from being seen with them? after all, everyone knows you're failing in life unless you have a husband. it almost feels like a gradebook - people see "straight married" as being "all A's", and anything else even vaguely noncompliant as being ... like you dropped out of the school system. you cannot just ignore years of that kind of conditioning, of course you like attention from men.

"so let's talk boundaries." he orders more wine for you, gesturing with one hand like he's rousing an orchestra. sir, this is a fucking chain restaurant. "I am not gonna date someone who still has male friends. also, i don't care about your little friends, i care about me. whatever stupid girls night things - those are lower priority. if i want you there, you're there."

he wasn't like this over text, right? you wouldn't have been even in the building if he was like this. you squint at him. in another version of yourself, you'd be running. you'd just get up and go. that's what happens on the internet - people get annoyed, and they just leave. you are locked in place, almost frozen. you need to go to the bathroom and text someone to call you so you have an excuse, like it's rude to just-leave. like he already kind of owns you. rudeness implies a power paradigm, though. see, even your social anxiety allows the patriarchy to get to you.

you take a sip of the new glass of wine. maybe this will be a funny story. maybe you can write about it on your blog. maybe you can meet ariana grande and ask her if she just maybe needs to take some time to sit and think about her happiness and how she measures her own success.

is this settling down? is this all that's left in your dating pool? just accepting that someone will eventually love you, and you have to stop being picky about who "makes" you a wife?

you look down to your hand, clutching the knife.

[wordsarelife]

—style

pairing: draco malfoy x fem!reader

summary: draco and you always come back to each other, sneaking around in secret, unable to let go, even though it’s getting harder to hide and maybe you're not willing to keep the secret any longer

warnings: slight angst but ends in fluff, height difference mentioned

your back was leaning against the castle's wall, arms crossed, you quirked a brow at the boy across from you. he was spotting a similiar expression, his arms crossed like you and face in a deep frown, unmoving as you nodded for him to talk.

"i'm not gonna apologize first" you shrugged, deciding to have it like this if he wanted to be difficult.

"well, me neither" he spat, voice venomous as he looked at you unimpressed, your threat not having the least bit of effect on him. "i wouldn't even know what for"

"you were the one that came back, draco" you reminded. "we agreed that whoever came back first had to apologize"

"well, i'm not doing that"

"then i'm not kissing you" you shrugged, turning your body as if to leave, before his hand grabbed your shoulder, turning you back around in a swift motion.

before you could protest or say anything else about his sudden action, his lips were on yours, pulling you in through the feeling that evaporated in your body.

you moaned into his mouth, not even caring that he didn't apologize, as he pressed you against the wall.

draco and you came from completely different worlds. he was a proud slytherin, someone that valued social standing and reputation above everything else.

you were a gryffindor, hanging along the golden trio most of the time, but basically being friends with everyone, no matter who they were or from which family they came. you didn't mind as long as you liked them.

draco and you had hated each other from the first encounter on. arrogant as he was, he had introduced himself to harry, muttering something about the wrong kind of people (eyeing ron and you) he had chosen to spend his time with.

you rivalry reached it's peak during third year when hermione had hit him and you had caught him days later as he was trying to throw something into her cauldron during potions class. you had slapped his hand back, resulting in him breathing in whatever he had held in there and spending a week in the infirmary, throwing up hours on end.

you gained two weeks of detention from snape, but quickly decided it was worth it, considering you had saved your friend from an even worse fate.

but the real change of your relationship had begun during fourth year. you had noticed that he grew into his looks and you couldn't believe it, but his cockiness actually attracted you.

draco continued making no secret of disliking you and your friends, but you noticed his eyes linger on you longer than they had before.

it had been a week of constant fighting, hormones high and upcoming exams stressing the both of you, where one thing had led to another and you found yourselves in shared detention with professor mcgonagall who punished you to sort through and clean her classroom.

"this is all your fault" draco muttered, cloth in hand as he rubbed it along the table, that picked the water up quickly.

"sure" you nodded with a role of your eyes. the row of goblets in front of you, used for the first year classes, turning out to be a particular hard thing to clean. "as if you didn't start the fight"

"i merely concluded obvious information"

"pff" you made, sending him a glare across the room. "that's not what i would call it"

"let's hear it then, genius"

"i'd call it an uneven distribution of arrogance and stupidity" you smiled smugly as you set down another goblet in front of you.

"you take that back!" draco let go off the cloth in his hand and dashed across the room, pushing his hands to his hips and looking down on you as if to try and dare you to say more.

"no" you shook your head, rising up from your chair so you were on an even level with him.

"one last chance, l/n"

"or what? you will send daddy to straigthen me out?" you puffed air out between your lips, not even caring about his answer. "you've been using the same empty threats for years, malfoy, it's honestly gotten boring at this point."

his eyes widened, switching to collect the glimmer of your lips as a memory and before he could properly think of what he was doing, he had closed the space between you, kissing you softly.

it had taken exactly ten seconds for both of you to realize what had happened, quickly breaking apart.

"you just kissed me!" you muttered stunned, pointing an accusing finger in his direction.

"you kissed me" he shook his head, just as shocked as you, as he tried to remember what had happened exactly.

"no" you corrected firmly. "i'm not taking the blame for this mess. this is solely on you"

"you kissed back though" he concluded, with a final nod. "don't ever do that again"

"well, okay?" you shrugged "i won't as long as you don't ever kiss me again"

the tension between you was palpable, as you kept holding eye contact, no one of you moving as both of you tried to find out what the kiss would mean for your relationship, or more so lack of, moving forward.

it had been a sudden decision, maybe because you had spent all your years at school trying to one up draco malfoy, but you didn't think twice, before you pushed your mouth against his once more.

this time the kiss lasted longer and both of you had to catch your breath.

"i thought i told you to never do that again"

you nodded, before you smirked, "you said i should never kiss you back"

"yeah" he nodded, admitting that you hadn't done anything he had forbidden. "and you said i should never kiss you again"

"never is such a harsh word" you shrugged and just half a second later you were kissing once more, your hands gliding into his neck as you pressed him closer.

what began that day in the classroom accompanied you through the school years that followed. you and draco would put on a facade in front of your friends and pretend like you still couldn't stand each other, which was, to be honest, not even far from the truth considering he still constantly annoyed you. all while you would meet in secret, sneaking around the castle and hooking up with each other behind everyone's back.

apart from sleeping with each other not much changed between you. you never declared what you did to be a relationship, although both of you never met other people.

draco was the one constant through your teenage years. sometimes you would go longer without the other, but you would always come back, like a drug you couldn't stop taking even if it had the potential to destroy you in the end.

draco ended the kiss, pressing his forehead against your own. "sorry" he muttered and you furrowed your brows in surprise.

he had never apologised before, even if that was your rule. he would always suck up for a while, until you finally accepted that he was somewhat sorry, without actually saying it.

"hmm" you hummed, pressing one more kiss against his mouth, before you broke away and grabbed your bag off the floor. "we've got herbology"

draco nodded and turned around, picking up his own bag. "i'll go around the courtyard, you'll go now"

"sure" he softly grabbed your neck with his hand, bringing you close again and kissing you, more passionately than the moment allowed. you were way too flustered when he let go off you, but he just nodded for you to go. so you did.

you kept thinking about him for the rest of the day. through the whole herbology class, most of potions class and even charms, which was you favorite subject.

it hadn't been yesterday when you realized that you maybe didn't still find him as annoying as you did back when you were children. that you had maybe even grown fond of him a little, or whatever it was that you had.

and there was a stupid part of you that longed for more. for more of whatever it was.

what you had enjoyed at first, was now the part you hated most about your little arrangement. sneaking around, lying to your friends and always keeping something from them, while they viewed you as family, as someone they knew everything about.

you just wanted them to know and maybe you also wanted to know if he would stay. stay at the possibility of people finding out about you.

all that went through your head until the next day. and realistically you knew he wasn't what you wanted him to be. you knew draco well enough. he would never agree to go public, much less to even be in a relationship with you.

so it was pretty clear what you had to do.

you knew that it was the right decision in the long run. for both of you.

you met in the same hallway. you were leaning against the wall when he arrived, a distant smile on his face, that only really broke out when his eyes fell on you.

"hey" he muttered. you let him kiss you, before he stepped back, leaning across from you.

"hi" you said, testing the waters. he furrowed his brows and crossed his arms.

"what is it?" he asked unimpressed. he was used to you berating him for something he had said or done the day before. most often it was something regarding your friends and even though he never admitted it, you noticed his behaviour change, when you had been angry about something.

"nothing" you averted your eyes. you could hear him step forward, on edge, not used to the sadness in your voice.

times you had been apart came normally right after you had fought with each other. always screaming loudly, having found something to be annoyed about, before you decided not to see each other anymore, until one of you eventually came back.

"tell me" draco urged, the calmness in his voice long gone. "did something happen?" normally you would have made fun of him for his unusual care, but now you even felt sorry about it.

"i don't think we should continue to see each other" you shrugged, acting as if you didn't even care.

draco laughed, or rather puffed out air through his nose, before he shook his head. "i told you i was sorry"

"it's not about that"

"then what?" he stepped even closer. "something with you friends? i didn't even really see them yesterday"

"that's not it, draco"

there were a few seconds of silence, before he sighed loudly. "is it a guy?"

"no"

"okay, so you're just doing this? for what?" he threw his arms up, like he couldn't understand anything anymore. "you'll come back anyway"

you didn't answer anything, staring at him blankly, not having the strength to even say it out loud. without you wanting him to, he caught the uncertainty in your eyes.

"..you'll come back" he repeated, voice low. "right?"

"draco" you sighed, not knowing what to tell him.

"no, don't be like that" he shook his head and you saw that he was trying hard not to show you how much he cared. "don't act like you have to console me, don't act like you're breaking up with me"

"i'm not" you nodded. "but i'm not coming back either"

he pushed his hands into the pockets of his trousers, not even looking at you when you picked up your bag. you tried to catch his eyes, but it was to no avail. so you just walked away, not even knowing if you felt relieved or sad at the predicament that he would never be coming close to you again.

you walked through the halls of the castle and opened the door to the courtyard. the weather had turned rainy, thick clouds hanging over the towers of the castle, hiding them in the white air. the rain hit the ground mercilessly and you realized too late that it had been a stupid idea to walk across.

"you can't just do that" the voice behind you was so sudden and loud that your bag almost hit the wet ground beneath you.

draco caught up with you quickly, not caring about the rain one bit.

"what?" you asked, continuing your quick walk through the yard. but admittedly it was to no use, considering that you were already wet to the bones.

draco grabbed your shoulder, making you halt in your step and turn to look at him. "you can't just decide that" he said "it's not your decision to make"

"it's not yours either"

"why are you like that?" he ignored your previous answer. "i thought you liked this"

"i did" you nodded, seeing no reason to lie. "until i didn't"

"what does that even mean?" draco pushed his wet hair back annoyed. he wasn't able to understand you and scarily enough, that was the first time in years he failed to read what was going on with you.

"that means that we have to stop seeing each other"

"but why?"

you ignored him, moving your arm so he lost his grip on you, walking further through the wet garden. draco followed you.

"why?" he repeated, "what do you want me to do?"

"nothing, draco, it's fine"

"if this is some psychological trick, i swear to god"

"it's not, draco" your voice became louder, trying to drain out the rain that muffled it. "just forget about me"

"what if i can't?" he had stopped moving, staring at you blankly when you turned around. you had never seen him like this. so vulnerable, so honest.

"it didn't even matter" you simply said, "it was nice for a while, but it's over now"

"so you just decided that?"

"yes"

"but it wasn't just nice" he came closer, his face painfully twisted, as if to try and see your reaction to it. to get something from you. to see if it really didn't matter. "it was different. it wasn't just something"

"then what was it?" you pushed him to say more, to hear what you needed to for so long. "tell me why it was different? i thought you hated me"

"i did everything but that" he muttered and you had a hard time understanding him.

"why did you never say that before?" you asked, stray tears mixing with the rain on your face. "why are you so desperately trying to convince me of something you would've denied if i had asked you before? why didn't it matter before? why didn't you say something sooner?" your voice evolved into a scream, begging him to answer.

"why do you think i always came back?" he matched the loudness of your voice, anger blending with desperation as his blue eyes crashed into yours.

"why do you think i did?"

"i thought you knew" he shook his head, not understanding how it had come so far he had to explain it to you. "i thought i made it clear"

"thought you made what clear?" you asked, your voice louder than his, as he had grown more quiet. "that you didn't hate me? tolerated me even? that you—“

"that i fucking love you" his scream made you shut up immediately, eyes wide as you stared at him. "and maybe i should've actually said that or maybe i'm not what you want anymore—"

"what did you think would happen? did you think i would just accept it? not knowing how you really feel?"

"no" he shook his head "but i had hoped you would stay until i finally gathered up the courage to say it"

"how long?"

he sighed, looking annoyingly sweet as raindrops fell down from his hair and onto his cheeks. he looked like he was crying in an artful way. beautiful even, you thought, as you kept your eyes on his face like your life depended on it.

"mcgonagalls detention in fourth year"

"you couldn't have possibly loved me back then"

"maybe i didn't" he shrugged "but it was the first time i felt like this, when you kissed me"

"you kissed me" you corrected, but unable to stop the smile from breaking out.

"well, what do you say?"

"you want to hear it back?" you asked.

"preferably yes, but for now a sorry would do"

"for now, a hot shower would do" you rolled your eyes. "alone"

"and after that?" his voice lost a bit of it's cockiness, returning back to the insecurity it had held a few minutes before, "what then?"

you pressed your lips against his and he took the kiss with surprise, before he reciprocated it.

you pulled back, looking up at him, drenched from head to toe, but absolutely beautiful in his eyes.

"i'll come back"

[ridher]

rafe finally asking out the shy pogue he's been crushing on

weeks of plotting — rafe cameron regularly showing up to the island country club for the sole purpose of seeing you, a soft-spoken pogue who works as a waitress at said place.

his intentions were anything but friendly, even if that's genuinely what you believed at first. despite this, he never made it clear and kept you in an awkward grey area that left you wondering just what his goal was.

and of course, you wouldn't dare speak up about your feelings, so rafe's visits remained strictly casual.

he hadn't been planning on changing your relationship any time soon, not even when he came into the club today in the late afternoon.

there you were, like always, shuffling about in the little uniform he found just so adorable, hair held back in a messy updo that always came out effortlessly perfect with pieces falling out and framing your face — enhanced by a layer of natural makeup.

the only difference was a small frown shaping your pouted lips, a sight he'd only seen a handful of times when an entitled resident of figure eight treated her as something below them.

he spends the remaining hours of your shift accompanying you after taking it upon himself to fix your face — a challenge.

though every time you come back from fixing up a table for a new group to occupy, you return with the same dejected expression. it almost pains him and he's lost in his thoughts, silently taking sips of the drink before him on the bar.

you let out a deep sigh signaling the end of your work day, to which he quickly responds after sitting up in the barstool.

"let me walk you out." he offers, leaving his glass for whoever is clocking in next.

replying with just a nod, you head back to grab your work bag — not having the energy to try and brush him off how you would with anyone else in this mood.

rafe is waiting in the decorated hallway outside the employee break room with his back leaning against the wall, hands stuffed in the pockets of his shorts, and curtain bangs parted due to how many times he'd run a hand through it.

when you come out and see him, it takes all your energy to flash him just a small smile. the gesture has him sighing and stepping forward to place a strong hand on the small of your back, guiding you through the building so he can say what he wants about your mood in confidence.

he stops you shortly after the entrance of the parking lot where the two of you usually part ways, moving to stand in front of you as his thumb caresses your back through the thin polo of your uniform.

"wha's goin' on, huh?" he lowers himself to be on your level and make his presence less intimidating — something he learned works with you.

"bad day.. i dunno, i'm sorry." you let out in a soft breath, gazing up at him with big eyes and brows pinched with tension.

he shakes his head and reassuringly mimics your expression, not mocking. the hand not splayed across your waist moves to brush some flyaways from your flushed face that had him distracted.

"it's alright, baby. let me make it better, yeah? will you let me help you?" when he makes his voice all low and smooth like that, it's hard to refuse.

you let out a shaky breath that releases the lines from your forehead before nodding silently once again with a small 'okay', knowing he'll continue with the little bit of confirmation.

"okay? listen, a'ight? you go home and get all cleaned up, take one of your little naps or somethin', eat. i'll come by later and pick you up — m'taking you out, okay?"

you're taking it all in with clueless doe eyes, nodding along until the last little bit. he sees the way your cheeks flush and you struggle to respond, reading the look too easily.

"yeah, yeah — like that. 'kay? we have a deal?" the large hand rafe has on your hip flexes when he tenses while awaiting your reaction.

"okay, rafe." you're nodding with an honest smile now and the sweet tone of your voice says more than you could explain.

he's grinning all smugly, proving no matter how soft he tries to come off, he is still the popular teen boy from the other side of town. none of that mattered in this moment when your crush just made the first step in pursuing you.

"okay. text me an' i'll see you tonight." rafe sends you off with a pat on your back, walking past you much too casually for having just asked you out. what were you getting yourself into?

as per request — @sublimepenguinpeach-blog & @lalaloopsie

[nightscythe]

light sides of the primarchs' relationships

happy valentine’s day!! this one is a bit happier than the 'dark sides' one for obvious reasons. as always just my opinion. if there is anything else you would like to see, let me know! enjoy!!

18+, it's not necessarily nsfw but suggestive themes. based on pre-heresy interpretations.

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the lion: the ultimate protector. you'd never feel unsafe in his presence. not just from legitimate threats, but.. waking up in the morning to find his arms around you, eyes watching you, lips ghosting your hair as though he would never be able to let you go. you're minding your own business reading a book or listening to others talk, and even though he's on the other side of the room he's still watching, calculating, making sure every single person near you is treating you well. if anyone did try anything? nice knowing them. you become his priority. his endless war. nothing will ever harm you again, except maybe him, on his endless war with making you feel every ounce of pleasure the universe can offer. ;)

fulgrim: is also your best friend, but not in the typical guy way. he's literally invested in every single one of your stories, he knows everyone's little secret, he comes back to you with tales he's learnt and weekly scandalous gossip. he knows everything about you. it's not even deliberate either, he's just so in sync with you that he could take a wild guess and still get it right. nights together can feature many things, all of which are thoroughly enjoyed due to his ability to perfect every single thing he does, but knowing there will never be a time you cannot talk to him about something? knowing he'd give you the best advice, more accurate responses, it's very comforting.

perty: you know everything with him is genuine. he would never lie to you, and that may be hard to swallow at first, but really? its a godsend. he'd not try to make you feel better by telling you a slight truth, he'd rather help you to move past it, work on the issue, etc. and that's why, a long way down the line when he does give you infrequent but honest words about his love for you, it means more than anything. there is not someone in the galaxy that you could trust more than this man, not with your life, your secrets, or your heart. and really, it would only ever get stronger over time.

the khan: enjoyably unpredictable. a man who values freedom always would be. he uses his instincts in everything and therefore it may not always be easy to know what he's going to do next. would encourage you to do things you may never have thought about, shows you new parts of the galaxy and introduces you to topics and concepts you knew nothing about before him. for that reason, he's an absolute storm when you are alone. completely unpredictable and completely dedicated to pleasing you. he's also just enjoyable to be around. he may be a touch arrogant and quick tempered, but he's witty, sarcastic, and excellent with his successful attempts to rile you up with teases.

leman: his love is very pure and built on a huge amount of respect. small gifts, tokens of appreciation, oh its all coming out with him. 'made me think of you' type thing and it's the most beautifully designed canvas that you know he wouldn't have just stumbled across. of course this is very different to how everyone else sees him, and no one would believe you. uses that to his advantage. loses all sense of practicality though when it comes to you and would probably show you 110% of his emotions even when he didn't intend to. his heart is in it, no half measures, you're his entire world now and as long as you will let him, he will love you for the rest of his life.

dorn: he is cold, but there is that burning fire that rages beneath. and when the cracks are fully formed? its impossible to ignore. he will not say I love you, but show you he loves you. there are never ups and downs, no maybes - its always a definite. if you need something? he gets it. you are worried about something? there is no need to worry for it any longer. he plans, he knows what to do to help you, he would never give reason to doubt that 1. he could protect you, and 2. his unwavering loyalty to you. does everything in his power to please you, particularly in the physical manner. when he's around, everything feels intense, and its oh so hard to ignore.

curze: he's trying. he is. you can see it each day. sometimes its not obvious, but he really does watch other people and try to imitate what they do to show you the love you deserve. because in his mind? you deserve it all. would he ever tell you that. no. he'd find it stupid. he'd rather keep it all to himself. but sometimes he bottles too much inside and it all comes out, all at once, every feeling he has. in that moment he just needs someone to hold him, reassure him, and be there to feel the love that follows. of course it isn't conventional, but even if he just taught you tarot, explained his twisted thoughts, tried to show you your fate - he's sharing a part of him that he'd not let another see.

sanguinius: effortlessly devoted, but not in the obsessive, overbearing way. you can see it in his eyes. he doesn't need to worship the ground you walk on or call in a choir to sing about you, you can just feel it. the small gestures. something so meaningful but so tiny that it almost snaps reality. helping you to braid your hair. trying his best to help you with something that he could have just ignored. listening to you with intent - not because he loves you so much he doesn't want to look away, but because he wants to hear you. listen to you. understand everything he can about you. it's so natural to him and warms you every time. something something doesn't care what time of the month it is either.

ferrus: always pushes you to be the best version of yourself. of course I have covered the bad side of this, but provided it's tamed, he understands there are limits, it can be rewarding. he will always reassure you that he doesn't need you to be perfect to love you, and would always encourage you to make decisions which benefited you - not anyone else. you'd also get to see his emotions, a rarity, knowing he only trusts so many to see him like that. a national accompaniment to this is that he pays a lot of attention to you. knows you extremely well. so if you ever argue, or don't talk for whatever reason.. be sure to engage the full ferrus apology - bedroom and all. crafts you really nice things too (of course)

angron: love is the only quiet he gets from pain. when you see him at ease, even for only a few moments, you can rest assured knowing that you were helping him. when he holds your hand, when he stands before you and defends you with his whole being, when he lets you fall into his arms and hesitantly wraps them around you. you know then that it's true. because he wouldn't do that for anyone else, and he couldn't physically do that if he did not have a moment of reprieve. and he knew as well that you gave him a chance, saw him for more than what everyone else did. that means more to him that anything.

rob: truly appreciates you. like, will show you, will make sure you know, will do anything in his power to make sure you're aware that the only reason he has an ounce of sanity left is because of you. you're the only person he will pause everything for, he will turn everything off to listen to you and your thoughts, he will actively seek your opinion on things he knows you would be happy to give it on, etctec. he just treats you like an equal. and considering who he is, that may be hard. but he does value you. yes he is pulled in every direction by all his duties but he knows where the limit is, and if either of you are reaching it, he will do what he can to make sure you feel happy and secure.

morty: it's those quiet moments that really stand out. when he lets his guard down for just a second, when he finally trusts you and knows that he would give his life for you until the very end. it wouldn't be easy for him to admit, and he probably never would admit it, but that one moment where he finally relaxes his shoulders and just lets you carry his burdens with him? it really does show a lot. and he would give everything for you. not even an ounce would be spared. it's easy to see it when he says it, that he loves you, even if he doesn't know the true meaning of the word. may not be conventional love, but to him, its everything.

magnus: there is not another who could love as much as he could. it's that simple. he's so utterly in love with you that he'd move heaven and earth just to see you smile. for a man with so many things going on, so many things to remember and do, he still keeps you at the very top of everything. finds little things for you that he'd think you like. recounts stories to see your smile. lays beside you and holds your hand whilst you tell him what's on your mind. it's routine for him, he does it without even thinking. nothing, and that is a hard nothing, will ever make him as happy as you do, and even when you're not around everyone hears your name, little snippets of his love for you, how much you mean to him, etc. he's so enamoured, so trusting, so in awe, that everything you do means something to him.

horus: incredibly intuitive and knows what you need before you do. has the tea and some fruit in his hands before you'd even mentioned you were thinking of having some. had someone prepare you a bath before you even said you were stressed. brought you some flowers when you were feeling down. cancels all his plans because you need someone with you. he does it to show he cares, knowing that sometimes he can be distant or busy, and it can be incredibly effective. also holds you incredibly tight. like your hand, when he embraces you, etcetc, it's like you're his security blanket in a way, which seems stupid because why does he need one, but actually he finds a lot of comfort in your presence.

lorgar: perfect if you want to be worshipped. that's how he'd treat you. and yes this has a dark side. but limited, not indulged or used for bad purposes, a good balance can be met. he's soft. his world would crumble without you. his exterior and how others view him is so different to what he's like with you that it seems wrong. but you are his everything. he would tell you it every day. he'd make sure you never forgot it. it may not be evidential to everyone, he's not proclaiming his love and devotion to anyone he sees, but to you its obvious. a silent prayer for your protection each day. for your good health. for anything he can do for you. and you'd know he'd burn worlds for you - just use that for the right purposes.

vulkan: a kind soul meant for love. he's not obsessed and devoted. he's not silent and brooding. he's what you think of when you have soulmate in mind. it seems to just come natural to him. he's your best friend, your lover, your everything - and he takes pride in that. he'd not need to burn worlds for you, he'd not watch you from the other side of the room without a world, he'd be beside you with his hand gently rested on you. it's just... normal? is that bad to say? but like the version of normal you always wanted, the normal in romance novels which warped our perceptions of relationships. you know. cute.

corax: incredibly loyal. quietly loving you from a distance until he's with you, then he's far more passionate and open. he's not one to have elaborate gestures done in your name, he probably wouldn't even do more than speak in a normal tone whenever others are around. but you know he's there. a brush of your hand with his when you look uncomfortable or worried. a glance in your direction every so often if you are separated. he'd always find his way back to you though, and you always know he's there at your side. and yes, very passionate when it's just you two, so much so you'd have first doubted it was the same person. he just saves it all for you. especially few things he's picked up along the way he thinks you may enjoy.

alpharius: you could never doubt his love. he'd never let you. it's so obvious that it's what makes telling him apart so simple. he just can't deny it when he's around you, he can't resist it at all. love is in everything he does. his touches as he walks past. his names for you. his insistence on always having you in his arms. it can be endearing. it is nice knowing that you are so loved, never a doubt in your mind that he does care. and if you do doubt him? he will change that. you won't ever doubt him again. you don't ever need to worry about his love for you, it won't change. he'll never stop loving you.

˗ˏˋ 𓅰 ˎˊ˗

[hederasgarden]

Do you have any darker thoughts about your fav ATJ characters?

Bestie, I have so many thoughts, and I’m totally blaming @otaku-girl-ao3 for this. A few weeks ago, we spent an afternoon on Discord brainstorming what the ATJ characters would be like as dark versions of themselves and how that would manifest in distinct and interesting ways.

Just a quick note—this is quite a departure from the usual content on my blog and the type of things I typically write about. Recently, I’ve been gathering the courage to explore some darker themes in my writing (I blame BookTok for introducing me to a lot of questionable tropes). Please be kind and let me know if you’d like to see more of this kind of writing from me!

Characters: Sergei Kravinoff (Kraven the Hunter), Friedrich Harding (Nosferatu), Tangerine (Bullet Train), and Ives (Tenet) Rating: Explicit, 18+ only. Dead dove, do not eat. VERY dark, depraved, and horny thoughts direct from me to you. Not all themes are tagged. Read at your own risk.  Please comment or reblog if you enjoyed this and want to see more. Or scream at me in my inbox. That always makes my day.

Aaron Taylor Johnson Character Masterlist

Sergei is a meticulous planner, taking his time to observe you and learn your habits. He likely comes across you by chance—perhaps while on the job or visiting his brother. It’s your scent that first grabs his attention, but it’s not what draws him back. It’s the softness and sweetness in your demeanor, the vulnerability you exude, completely unaware of the dangers around you. You’re the easiest prey he’s ever tracked, unaware even of the most basic threats. You’re always buried in a book or your phone, headphones on at full blast. If it weren’t for his quiet intervention, you would have been robbed or worse on your way home at least twice. 

He takes you because he believes you're not meant to be on your own. You need someone to care for you, to protect you from the world that you don’t fully understand. Really, it’s lucky your paths crossed. He’s certain you’ll come to see things his way in time. Until then, he’s turned his home into a beautiful little cage for you to live in, complete with an entire library filled with your favorite books, cozy blankets to keep you warm, and all the ingredients for the meals you love to cook and enjoy. He’s done his research on what you like and he’ll bring you anything you ask for. Afterall, he’s a provider at heart.

There’s no concern of you running away. You've seen the large snow leopard that prowls around outside, and the one time you made a foolish attempt to escape, Sergei was quick to show you that he wouldn't always be so gentle or understanding. As @writercole suggested, once he has you back, he’ll also end up keeping you tethered by the ankle for a while, a lesson that if you try to run, he’ll leash you.

After you recover from that experience Sergei finds you’re a much better pet, settling into your new life and role. You start cooking for him when he's home, and willingly crawl into bed beside him, seeking out his warmth on those cold winter nights. Soon, Sergei knows you’ll be ready for the next step: starting a family of your own.

Friedrich (in a modern AU) strikes me as the type who would quietly manipulate situations to his advantage, working behind the scenes to ensure things unfold just how he wants. He’d spot you working at a cafe or store he frequently visits and, from that moment, start working on a plan to make you his.

Rather than using overt force, he’d rely on subtle pressure and gaslighting, making you doubt yourself and your choices. He’d skillfully set up circumstances to undermine you—ensuring you miss out on a job you desperately need, getting you fired, or putting you in a position where you have no choice but to turn to him. When you're at your lowest, he’ll swoop in as the savior, the one who appears to protect you. His goal is to make you dependent on him alone, carefully ensuring that when the time comes for him to make his move, you're in no position to resist. Consent would be questionable, but he'd remind you every time you hesitated that you said yes, that you asked for his help, and that you invited him in.

I can also see him isolating you from friends and family, slowly pulling you away from the support system you once had. He’d definitely be the type to love-bomb you, showering you with overwhelming attention and affection, using his money and influence to manipulate you further. 

He strikes me as a baby trapper, sabotaging your birth control or tampering with his condoms to ensure you get pregnant. He believes you'd be the perfect wife and mother—you just need his help to realize that. Once he has you, he’d be the most loving and attentive husband, always caring, but beneath that sweetness lies an unshakable belief that he knows what’s best. He’s the one who makes the decisions, subtly guiding everything with quiet confidence until, over time, the balance shifts in his favor and you start looking to him for help with even the easiest things. Despite all of this, Friedrich would likely still view himself as a good person, firmly rejecting any notion that he is abusive or in the wrong.

Tangerine is on the opposite end of the spectrum, much more inclined to use brute force and physical violence to make you understand your place. He has a short temper and struggles with impulse control, especially when you don't follow his demands. There’s no slow build-up with him—he has no time or patience for romance. The moment he sees you on the street, he decides you’re coming home with him, and that’s final. Or maybe Tangerine and Lemon are sent to kill your husband but when Tangerine sees just how sweet you are, completely unaware of who and what your husband really is, he decides to keep you for himself. After all, no one's going to miss you. They’ll assume you died in the house fire with your husband. 

Once he had you he would try and spoil you with a beautiful place to live, fine clothes and decadent food. He’d want you to look and dress a certain way for him. A darker version of him would fit the profile of a classic abuser—lashing out at you in anger, only to later show up with flowers and a hollow apology, turning the blame onto you as if you were the one who provoked it.

“Why do you have to make things so fuckin’ hard, huh?” Tangerine questions, caressing your bruised skin. “I hate when you make me do this to ya luv. You need to listen better.”

He’d definitely be the most terrifying of all the dark versions of the ATJ characters because of his unpredictability. (I do not know why but I have such a strong sense he’d pop you in the mouth/back hand you with those rings on and just….yeah.)

If Ives were to go dark, he’d likely abuse his power and authority in the workplace, targeting someone beneath him—someone who wasn’t military and who he could easily manipulate using his strength and knowledge. Maybe you’re his admin, someone he works closely with, and no one questions the fact that you’re often in his office with the door closed or staying late to finish tasks together. He’d be blunt about his intentions with you, setting clear expectations for how things would unfold. His actions would be predictable—if you were a good girl, you’d be rewarded; if you misbehaved, there would be consequences. Ives would be a steady, unyielding force, confident that, with time, you’d fall into line.

[raysrays]

Fatal Attraction Chapter One (NSFW)

18+ MDNI‼️

CW for the entire story: Breeding, Size Difference,Size Kink, Jealousy, Scent Marking, Age Difference, Vaginal Sex, Possessive Behavior, Angst, Twisted, Creampie, Angry Sex, Vaginal Fingering, Hair-pulling, Biting, Master/Pet, Light Dom/sub, Violence, Knotting.

Content disclaimer: This story is inspired by the amazing artist @PammyJammy117 on Twitter/X. I in absolutely no way own or claim the idea of the “Cryptid Rengoku” character. Please give credit to the original artist who inspired the story.

Y/N Perspective.

It's early, too early. I don't know why I keep doing this to myself. For weeks now, I've followed the same routine: waking up, wandering the forest surrounding my village, and searching. Every day, I look for a sign that something, or someone, is out there. Yet somehow, I always come up empty-handed. It's not just me, though. My entire group is burnt out on this whole thing.

Searching for monsters has never been a passion of mine, but when you're down to your last cent and someone offers you free food and board in exchange for your help, how can you say no?

I still remember when Miss Tamayo approached me. It was snowing hard up in the mountains, and she saw how badly I was struggling in the cold. She was kind, took me in, and talked to me at length about the mystical monsters and beings her group had been studying and searching for. I'll admit, it was interesting, but I didn't believe any of it was real.

We've all heard the tales—the stories of the creatures we now call the Hashira, the terrifying monsters that once protected their respective villages and residents. While they made for nice campfire stories, there was simply no way these beings existed. Even if they did, why would they stay hidden? Wouldn't they seek revenge on the villagers who used them and then cast them out? None of it made any sense to me.

Despite voicing my concerns and disbelief to Miss Tamayo, she still wanted to help me, as long as I was willing to help her. And that's why I'm here now.

I'm in the middle of this forest. The sky is grey and cloudy, with rain surely on the way. It's foggy, and visibility is poor. Since I'm new and have only been working with these monster hunters for a few weeks, they've given me a basic route—one that minimizes the risk of encountering a real threat. Tamayo wanted me to look for a special flower that supposedly grows around here, but I haven't had any luck yet.

If I can't even find a flower, I don't feel like I'll make a promising monster hunter. At least, that's what Yushiro, one of Tamayo's most relentless supporters, thinks. Though we are civil to each other's faces, he openly voices his concerns about having me around. He says it's a waste of time to bring along someone who doesn't even "believe in the cause."

I suppose I can't argue with him too much. I've walked this same route every day for a few weeks now and still haven't come across the flower Tamayo sent me to find. Maybe it really is a waste of time—

My thoughts are interrupted by a rustling sound in the distance. My body immediately tenses up. I glance around, but the thick fog makes it hard to see. All this talk and thinking about monsters and mythical creatures is starting to get to me.

What was that? Did I lose the path? No, that's just me overthinking it, thanks to Tamayo and Yushiro filling my head with stories. I'm just being paranoid.

The rustling resumes, this time from the opposite direction. I can feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

"Tamayo? Yushiro? Is that you?" I call out into the fog.

I wait for their reply, but none comes. Adding to the unease, the air feels hotter now, and a strange clicking noise echoes through the area, growing closer and closer.

What should I do? Should I run?

As the clicking grew louder, I made up my mind and began to sprint through the fog, knocking branches and anything else in my path aside. At some point, I lost my footing. The trail must have ended, and I twisted my ankle on a tree root protruding from the ground.

My ears were filled with the sound of my own breathing, and it felt like my heart was going to burst out of my chest. This can't be happening. I was sent on an easy route to fetch a flower, not to be chased by some crazy monster.

I tried to stand, but the pain in my ankle was too much. I strained to stay silent and listened for the clicking sounds; they were faint but still there. I had to get out of here.

Grabbing onto the trunk of the tree I had tripped over, I pulled myself up. It hurt, but the adrenaline rush made it barely bearable.

The fog was finally starting to lift, and I could see the path I usually followed. I must have accidentally stepped off it while running. As long as I could get back, Tamayo would be able to help me with my ankle.

As I started to move slowly, a red light in the distance suddenly caught my attention. Squinting, I tried to make out what it could be and then realized it was two red lights, gradually moving closer to me.

Eyes.

Panic surged through me as I scrambled to move, trying to go as fast as my injured ankle would allow, grabbing onto anything I could for support.

This can't be happening. I refuse to believe any of this is real. How could all those stupid campfire stories be true? And why, out of all the monster hunters in Tamayo's group, did I have to be the unlucky one?

I wanted to scream and yell for help, but I was so deep in this forest nobody from the safe house would hear me.

It hurts. It hurts so much. It feels like my body is going to give out any minute, but my mind is racing, forcing me to keep moving.

The clicking is now accompanied by a deep growling, making it sound all the more intense. Whatever this thing was, it sounded terrifying. And those deep red eyes didn’t really help with my imagination.

Then it happened. I had to take a knee. The strain on my ankle kept getting worse the more I moved. I'm done for. Whatever this thing is, it's going to kill me.

At least Yushiro can look at my corpse and say, "I told you so."

As the clicking and growling got even closer, there was a small thump to the ground as whatever was about to kill me approached. I shut my eyes and prepared for whatever my fate was.

I felt it stop a few feet behind me. This monster is just staring at me. I’m too afraid to face it. I don’t want the last thing I see to be those glowing red eyes.

"What are you doing? Why did you run away?"

My heart nearly stopped. That voice—it was deep, loud, and had an eerie, echoing effect. Was this monster talking to me?

I took a deep breath. What should I say? Should I beg for my life?

"I asked you a question, human. Why are you running away?"

I could hear a hint of annoyance in its tone. The last thing I wanted was to anger a mythical being. I slowly turned my body. The sight that met me made speaking even more difficult.

It was tall. He was tall—about eight and a half feet.

He had blonde fur and a long mane of hair with red accents scattered throughout, tall pointed ears, and those glowing red eyes.

My lips parted. I wanted to answer, to beg for my life and apologize for intruding. But his appearance was so intimidating, so... enchanting.

I froze as he moved closer.

"Can you not speak, human? Are you afraid of me?" He chuckled. His laugh was as intense as his voice.

"I can speak," I managed to choke out.

His eyes seemed to light up, and he smiled.

Dear God. Those teeth. Long and sharp. If he wasn’t terrifying before, he definitely was now. I felt my heart beating rapidly. I knew I was done for, but this was all too much.

"What is your name, human? I've seen you walk this path for days now. I deserve to know who intrudes on my territory daily." Instead of anger, his tone was oddly amused.

"My name is Y/N L/N." I tried to keep the nervousness out of my voice but didn’t do a great job.

"Well then, Y/N L/N. You wandered away from your usual trail as soon as I got close to you. Why did you run away? Aren't you supposed to be looking for me?" He laughed, a mocking sound.

"You are a 'monster hunter,' aren't you?"

I didn't know what to say. He was right. I was supposed to be looking for him. That was the whole point of Tamayo taking me on, but I hadn’t expected it all to be so real.

"I didn’t believe in monsters. I was sent to look for a specific flower," I mumbled.

"Didn't believe?" He moved closer, towering over me. "Tell me then, Y/N L/N, do you believe now?" He smiled, those sharp teeth gleaming.

I felt my body run cold. He was terrifying, not just in appearance but in his entire demeanor.

“Yes, I do.”

For a moment, silence filled the air, broken only by the sound of the wind and his slight clicking.

“What is your name?” I asked.

“I am Kyojuro Rengoku, the protector of this land and its residents.” The echo in his voice cemented my assumptions.

There was no mistaking it—I had run into one of the Hashira.

I’d heard the stories, the legends of Rengoku, the fierce protector of this area. He was kind until he wasn’t. Then, humans saw him as a threat and banished him to the forest.

He kneeled down in front of me, still on the ground.

“You don’t seem too surprised. Have you heard of me?” His ear twitched, and I noticed the massive tail behind him curl around his body.

I took a deep breath and nodded. “I’ve heard the stories. You’re the Hashira associated with fire.”

He perked up at my response.

“So, my legends live on! How amusing!” He laughed.

His voice was so loud, it was almost funny.

Why is he acting like this? I thought he would have killed me by now.

“You’re hurt,” he said, gesturing to my ankle.

“Yeah... I sprained it,” I replied, shifting awkwardly.

“Yes, I know. From running away from me.” His tail flicked slightly, and a smirk formed on his face.

I didn’t know what to say or do. I was completely at a loss. Here I was, casually having a conversation with one of the scariest and deadliest creatures to walk the earth.

“What are you going to do with me? If you’re going to kill me, can’t you just get it over with?”

He looked at me, a mix of confusion and amusement in his eyes.

“Why are you so desperate to die so soon? Do you not enjoy my company?” His voice echoed with a chuckle.

Is he being serious right now?

“No— I’m just... confused. Why are you still talking to me? I’m a monster hunter, not a very good one, but still a monster hunter. Shouldn’t you just kill me and get it over with?” I was desperate for an answer, needing to know if I should prepare to die or not.

He stared at me for a moment, as if deep in thought, his ears twitching slightly.

“No, I don’t think I’ll kill you,” he said plainly. “However, only on the condition that you continue to return here. Tell no one of your kind about me and continue to come see me.”

I sat there, dumbfounded. This terrifying creature was willing to spare my life as long as I returned for his company?

“Why would you want to see me again?” I asked.

He smiled, baring his long, sharp teeth, his ears perking up.

“Because, Y/N L/N, you are the first person to talk to me in a long time. To be quite honest, something inside me is telling me that you and I are really going to like each other.”

His tone shifted, becoming more sinister. What did this creature have planned for me?

And why was I excited to find out?

Next>>

[erinwantstowrite]

opinions on ai?

This is the perfect time to share something I wrote a few months ago when I was upset about it:

AI is the bane of my existence and I hate it so much. Not only because of the environmental impact that it has, but because of how it gives us absolutely nothing of value in creative spaces and is actually a detriment to our future, rather than being "innovative" like companies want us to believe.

If you're using AI to write notes for you, or to answer questions, to write your essays and your discussion posts, you are hurting yourself. But eventually you will hurt others with your willing ignorance. You are not learning, you are not taking the time to push yourself to new bounds. You are not absorbing the information you need, and for why? Because it's hard? Life is hard. Learning is hard. If learning was easy, you wouldn't be learning anything at all. And one day when you need to use these tools you put down and gave to a program in order to do your job, you are going to get someone hurt in some way. If you're going into teaching and you didn't bother to learn about childhood development because you let an AI take your notes because you couldn't be half-assed to sit through an hour long lecture, you will fail every student that comes your way. If you're an engineer and you had AI do the math for you, something that you make will break and it could kill someone. Because the AI can not even count how many times the letter 'r' is in strawberry, but you're trusting it to make bridges or design buildings?

And in a creative sense, you are not an artist if you use AI. I will scream it from the rooftops if I have to.

You are not an artist if you use AI.

Because to be an artist is to put your very soul into what you create. And an AI has no soul. To be an artist is to lay yourself bare for people to witness and interpret, and it's scary but it's freeing. To be an artist is to make a message with your art, to have people a thousand years from now sit in a museum and feel connected to who you were so far in the past. To think that humanity may be different but we are also inherently the same. To be an artist is to despair over the process of creating your art because it's difficult, and time consuming, and damn does it drive you crazy. But then you get that end result and you realize you learned something about yourself, you got better at something that brings you joy, you created and now you see what you are capable of, and what you will be capable of in the future. To be an artist is to connect with someone because of what you made, and that someone includes yourself.

We keep telling young artists that they need to be better now, they need to quit if they aren't good at it on the first try. We keep acting like we didn't start from somewhere ourselves, like we were born with the fine motor skills and the talent needed to create. It's because our attention spans can't handle over 20 seconds and we need multiple videos playing to drown out our own thoughts. We have to look at comment sections to see the court of public opinion before we make a judgement ourselves. If anything is out of the ordinary or doesn't look the way we expect or want, it must be shamed. And this existence is exhausting because at the end of the day, we have done nothing of value. When coming across a video of a young artist who took the time out of their day to create, we need to encourage them to continue going, tell them that their work is worthy. Because it is. It is worthy because they made it. If we shoot them down before they can go anywhere, we've just killed an artist that could have painted the next Starry Night, or created a sculpture that millions of people would try to visit. We've shot down someone who could teach others how to create one day in their future. We shot them down and killed their inspiration and motivation, and they might turn to someone else to do it for them because they will believe they are not worthy enough or talented enough to make it.

When I was still in school, my favorite part of the year was seeing the projects put up on the wall. The silly displays our teachers put up to show a holiday with slightly wonky paper snowflakes, the posters that the art students made with "too many lightning bolts around the guitar", the signs for school dances, the yearbooks that students spent all year making, the English class posters that depicted scenes from what they were reading and they were made with stick figures or they had someone draw out butterflies. I loved seeing the decorations for Homecoming Week, loved looking ta the booths that everyone made for our career and science fairs. I liked when we put on talent shows still, when we did pep rallies and fashion shows and we saw everyone get together to have fun and not care if it was "perfect." No one there was a professional artist, not yet, but that didn't make it any less entertaining or creative.

We dance because we want to feel how our bodies move and express ourselves in ways words cannot. We paint and we draw and make pottery and quilts and pictures because at one point, all we had were cave paintings of our hands, and we still look at them with reverence for where we started. We sing and we drum and we laugh because music is a universal language that anyone can understand, and isn't that breathtaking? We write so that people in the future can pour themselves over our words and learn from us, so that kids can hide their books underneath their covers with a little flashlight when their parents put them to bed hours ago but they just can't put our story down they have to know what comes next! We cook for our loved ones and have family recipes that mean we've been tasting the same food that our family we never got to meet were eating too.

We create because humans are meant to create. We put our love into the process, we put our dreams and our hopes and our hard earned lessons into these creations.

AI will never have that. AI has none of the process, and therefore, it is not art. We can gripe about how art has different meanings all we want, we can shout that art is only art if it invokes an opinion or a thought, but that is not what makes art. Because there is still effort put into placing a shoe on a pedestal, or painting a yellow square, or painting a mural on a wall, or writing poetry in a tiny notebook at school, or melting crayons together, or anything that requires you putting it together. If AI is doing all the work for you, then you've accomplished nothing. And you stole from the people that actually did accomplish something. You stole not only their effort, but you stole their process, their feelings, their hope and their dreams and their ideas of the future.

AI is nothing and will ultimately become obsolete. Because humans will not stop creating just because companies are pushing for us to stop and hand it over to them. They want us to stop creating, they want us to pay them for it, they want us to put blind trust into what they're doing, they want us to forget that they are stealing from us. I will not forget. I will never forget. Because I was born to sing and dance and write and draw and cook, and when I die, my body will go right back to the Earth and perhaps flowers will grow around my grave. I will still be creating even then. And even if AI is still around and still trying to steal from us, I will die knowing that it could never do the same.

[heart-of-the-morningstar]

More Lucifer x f!reader stuff!

I was sent an anonymous prompt for more Lucifer x reader and I got a little done! This will more than likely contain more NSFW later, but this snippet doesn't have any so no active warnings!

You sat upright on Lucifer’s king sized bed, the King of Hell straddling your lap. You don't know how you even ended up in this position, not on this bed necessarily, but how you ended up as Lucifer's beloved. You believed in your heart that you did not deserve him, but time and time again Lucifer has showered you with praise and adoration like no one ever had before. He was perfect. And you were...you. It didn't make sense.

Regardless, that didn't stop him from holding your face tenderly in his hands while he kissed you with a fiery passion. You were self conscious about being so vocal around him during intimacy, but he made it his mission to elicit as many moans and whines from you as possible. Slowly, he reached down to the hem of your shirt, grabbing a fistful of fabric. Your eyes popped open, your mind racing. You pulled away from his lips and went to grab his wrist that held your clothing.

"I-I'm sorry, love," he apologized, releasing your shirt immediately. You sighed and let go of the grip you had on his hand. "I didn't mean to scare you, I should have asked. Please forgive me."

"No, no," you breathed, "it's alright. I'm not upset, I just panicked. I'm sorry."

Lucifer pressed his lips to your forehead and planted a small kiss. "Please don't ever think you need to apologize to me for how you feel, sweetheart."

"O-Ok," you stuttered.

"Do you want to stop?," Lucifer asked. You could hear the genuine concern in his voice. Hard as it was to believe, he cared about you more than anything.

You shook your head. "No."

"You're sure?," Lucifer questioned further, "because if you're uncomfortable, we can-"

You cut him of mid-sentence with a quick peck to his lips. He smiled bashfully, a cute blush spreading across his face. "Believe me, Luci, I want this. I mean I really want this, but..." you found it difficult to articulate what you wanted to say.

"Well, if that's the case darling, what if I go first then?," Lucifer proposed. You cocked your head, unsure of what he was talking about. He reached up and began to unbutton his shirt, starting from the top and working his way down. Oh...OH.

Your face instantly feels hotter and your breathing becomes hotter. You tried to say something, but the words caught in your throat. Your mouth has never felt drier. He finally reached the last button of his shirt and you finally see some of his chest. You could almost feel your brain short circuiting.

"Do you wanna do the honors, my dear?," he asked playfully. You gulped as your hands reached towards his shoulders. Gingerly, you slid his sleeves down each arm, slowly revealing more and more skin to you. Once his shirt was completely removed, you couldn’t help but stare. His chest was so smooth and toned, almost like it had been sculpted. “Like what you see?” Lucifer questioned coyly, noticing your unwavering expression of awe.

"W-Well that's hardly fair," you whispered, finally finding your voice, "you're an actual angel. Of course you're going to be gorgeous, I-" you slapped your hand over your mouth once you realized what you had said. "Please pretend you didn't hear that!," you begged through your hand.

Lucifer's face was flushed pink, he could help but smile. He chuckled as he went to remove your hand from your face. "Is that what you really think about me, sweetheart? I'm truly flattered to hear that coming from someone as exquisite as you."

"You...You really think..." you started to say but couldn't finish. Tears began to well up in your eyes, you tried to rub them away before Lucifer could see but it was too late. Lucifer cupped your face and ran his thumbs under your eyes to clear away the tears that had fallen. Your breath hitched, you tried to take in deep heavy breaths so you wouldn't start sobbing.

[muffinrecord]

Asuka's MGS

So far it's a little bland but it's got some interesting parts. I think I prefer how they're presenting her here than I did in her MagiReco MGS.

The MagiReco MGS makes more of a big deal on how scatterbrained and silly she is. You get the feeling that her neuroticism negatively effects her daily life, but you're meant to take it more as a funny joke than anything else.

Here it comes across as Asuka having something going on mentally but still being taken a bit more seriously. We see that she's pretty focused and smart, especially for things she zeroes in on.

Having Asuka get a moment where she notices something and gets to help improve a friend's performance isn't exactly groundbreaking writing, but I think it helps keep her from feeling like a caricature.

That's not to say she doesn't get made fun of though

The thing is, this points out that Asuka has a habit of making assumptions but something about it also feels kind of... bad. It doesn't help that Asuka's reaction is to blame herself and downplay what's going on

I think it also helps that we see that Asuka's issues don't just impact the people around her (Mitama for being late) but also Asuka's own life.

There's this kind of sad yet complacent resignation that Asuka displays that makes me feel a little sorry for her. And the way that her friends speak to her also makes me feel a little bad. Obviously Rena going "ONE OF YOUR WEIRD ASSUMPTIONS" is there, but there are other more innocent moments too

Like... obviously Asuka would realize this, right? The girl overthinks and worries about everything. How could she not? But it's almost like because she's not outwardly fretting about it, her friends seem to believe that Asuka hasn't made this connection yet. But Asuka isn't stupid.

(It's hard to talk around this-- I'm not sure what's going on for Asuka, but I'm guessing we're meant to assume she has some flavor of mental illness or neurodivergency. I don't really know enough about OCD to say she's got it, but given that Asuka in MagiReco made a big deal about how she has to have everything "just" right and organize and clean things obsessively, it wouldn't surprise me if that's what's meant to be going on. But again, I don't want to diagnose her with something I don't know enough about. I'd be curious to see what folks with OCD think about her character and if it's an accurate guess or if it's a stereotypical/incorrect one.)

And like... what can Asuka do about it? This is just another time she's made a big deal out of something and destroyed her life and hurt the people around her. She can either hate herself or move forward. Because she knows she's gonna make mistakes again, and her friends know she will. What can she do? It sucks but she's not stupid and she's not gonna wallow. She's gonna keep moving forward.

Another interesting thing is that, so far, there's no suicide jokes which is kind of incredible for her??? Personally they never offended me but also I don't hate this direction.

I've only got up to episode 2 unlocked so I'm curious to see what the rest of her story will be like. I like it so far though! Curious what other folks think.

[nariism]

a/n: fwb zhongli who catches feelings for you and mopes when it's time for you to part ways bc me and art said so. suggestive obv but nothing blatantly nsfw

You've become sort of a sore topic for Zhongli.

No, not because you've rejected him in any way. Not even because he's trying to avoid catching feelings for you. Quite the opposite, actually.

He doesn't know what you are. He doesn't know if he means anything to you below the surface.

Sure, the flings were fun—distracting, even, when he was stressed from work. You were only meant to be a good time outside of work which Childe so earnestly encouraged him to find. And you were for the most part wonderful company even when he wasn't tangled in bedsheets with you.

The problem is that he was falling hard and fast, and he's almost positive the sentiment isn't shared.

"You're going out again?" Hu Tao asks as she peers into his office. He's packing up his belongings and shoving your favourite snacks into his bag.

"Yes, does that concern you, Director?"

"Yeesh," she hisses. "Cold. Haven't you two made it official yet?"

"No."

"And that's because...?" She trails off, awaiting some sort of explanation. It's been months after all. Months. Frankly, she's tired of watching Zhongli do this back and forth without making any actual advances outside of... well.

She coughs when he doesn't provide any answer. "Are you going to?"

The man only sighs, frustrated with himself or with the Director, he can't tell anymore. And again, he tells her:

"No."

She shakes her head. He's utterly hopeless.

"My, you sure do know a lot about Glaze Lilies."

Zhongli's fingers twitch and he recoils from you. The flower he placed behind your ear shimmers in the glow of lanterns, sparkling like diamond itself is sprouting from your hair. You look so breathtaking, he thinks. Could he tell you that? Probably not.

Ah, he must have been rambling without realizing. A bad habit that he has yet to kick. It must bore you to death.

"An old friend of mine used to love them," he tells you. "My apologies for going off on a tangent."

"No, no," you wave him off, a smile spreading across your face—warm and welcoming. For a moment he believes that you're looking at him with something more. "It's alright. I like listening to you talk."

"You... do?" He questions.

"Why wouldn't I?"

He opens his mouth like he has an answer but it quickly snaps shut. Yes, why wouldn't you? He's surprised that you haven't lost interest in him yet simply because he's a talktative walking history book, yet simultaneously relieved that you haven't left his side.

There's zero dishonesty evident in your expression, nor is there any sign that you genuinely want him to stop blathering. But the time has come to leave you anyway. If only the night could be as lasting as his growing feelings for you.

The winding streets of Liyue have lead you back to your front porch. It must be well into the night—hardly anyone is around. The shops have all packed up and closed down for the day and even the croaking of frogs has quieted down.

You turn slightly, glancing at the welcoming entrace of your home. "So... this is it."

"Home."

"Home," you echo.

"When will I see you next?"

You laugh, seemingly amused by his formality. "Whenever you'd like, Zhongli."

A long silence settles over you as you watch each other. Your eyes bore into his intensely, as if searching for something in them. With the distance between you, he can't make out exactly what it is that you're thinking.

You turn to leave and it's a familiar, gut-wrenching feeling. The sight of you leaving him: sometimes draped in nothing but his bedsheets and others like this. And for some reason, this version bothers him infinitely more.

It's pathetic that he mopes about it, feels like a kicked puppy now that your date (if you could even call it that) has ended. The uncertainty of having you means that it could be the last time he holds your gaze, or it could be just be the beginning of your story.

He wants you. He knows he does. Would it be selfish to ask you to be his? Does he have that right?

Just as he's about to leave you at your door, once he knows you've gotten safely there, your voice calls out to him.

"Actually, do you want to walk around a bit longer?" You freeze, looking surprised at your own suggestion before continuing. "I-I know it's quite late but..."

He holds his breath. But?

"But... I just want to hear your voice a little longer."

It's a silly reason, he knows. It's even worse how giddy he feels inside, acting like a child having a crush on someone. He's certain you can see the melting of his expression, eyes impossibly soft.

The realization strikes him down like lightning. Oh. How could he have not realized? Had he been so busy worrying about how to move on from you while you were still in his bed that he missed the way you purposefully lingered around a little longer? That you were always the one asking him when he was free?

He chuckles—to you or at himself, he isn't sure. "Of course."

When you close the distance between your bodies, he offers you his hand with a blooming smile. He can't help admiring you under the warm lights of the harbour. You take it without question and don't let go. He doesn't either.

"Where was I?"

"You were telling me about why they only blossom under moonlight," you ponder. You're not very subtle with the way you scoot your body closer into his side and how you try to nimbly interlock your fingers, but he doesn't mind.

He had been blind this long. He would be remiss if he were to let the opportunity slip.

"Ah, yes." Zhongli squeezes your hand as you walk. "I should tell you of this old legend."

There's an uncontrollable joy in his heart when he realizes that, indeed, it is only the beginning of a long tale.

© ALABOADOA 2023 — please do not translate or post my works to other platforms.

[livesworthlivingau]

Lives Worth Living Chapter 9

You know the drill, ISAT spoilers below.

"There! That should help with the itching at the very least." (Mirabelle remarked after healing your arms as best she could, though you can tell in her voice she wished she could do more.)

"… Thanks Mira…"

"Don't even mention it Siffrin, I'm happy to help!… And thank you, for being honest with all of us… I know that must have been hard to share." (She added with a bright smile, one you can't help but smile back at.)

"Of course… We're feelings buddies after all, right?"

"Right!" (You chuckle some, able to tell Mira was hesitating about something… You lift your arms, inviting her into a hug. She practically jumps at the chance! Quickly wrapping her arms around you and pulling you into an almost crushing grip! You choke out some, gasping for air and patting at her back.)

"S-Sorry! I-I just got a little excited." (Her grip quickly lessens, the both of you laughing to yourselves.)

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(The next day you arrive at the next town over. Everyone is nice and rejuvenated after last night's stop, though you're still a bit emotionally drained. The entire town seems to be setting up for something as it comes into view. Large banners and decorations being hung up across buildings, everyone is bringing furniture out into the middle of the road as impromptu party tables and seats.)

"Oh! It looks like they're getting ready for a celebration!"

"We DID just unfreeze most of the country, it makes sense there would be celebrations going on across it."

"And this town gets to celebrate with the saviors themselves!"

"Yeaaaah!! The saviors are in town!!!"

(… Crab… It's all coming back to you now…)

"Uhh… maybe I'll sit this one out…"

"Awww, c'mon Sif it'll be fun!"

"I dunno… I don't really feel very 'savior-y' after everything that happened…" (You say while your head lowers, eyes drifting to the ground.)

"Siffrin…" (Odile starts, walking over and placing a hand on your shoulder.)

"You realize we wouldn't have been able to do any of this without you, right? Based on everything that happened, I'm not sure we'd have even reached the second floor on our own."

"… Yeah… Yeah you're right…" (You say, only half believing yourself. Based on Odile's look she probably believes that even less than you did. She just sighs and pats your shoulder again.)

"If you're not quite up for being the center of attention we can figure something out, but please understand you played as big a part in this as any of us." (You muster up what you can of a smile and nod.)

"Thanks Odile…

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(You sat in your room at the inn, which was give freely by the owner for the 'Gracious Saviors of Vaugarde'… You never got used to being called that, even after all this time. You look out the window at everyone preparing the festivities, your family being the center of attention. You want to be with them but you know it'd be far too much for you right now… but it would still be nice to enjoy the party a bit otherwise, right?…)

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(You take a deep breath and sigh it back out, walking through the busy street without your hat or cloak. The two things that made you stand out as one of the 'saviors'. You felt naked, but it was far better than the overwhelming reaction of being swarmed by 'adoring fans'.)

(You walk along, lightly holding yourself, just looking for anything to distract you. Not much is setup yet, but maybe you could help out? Maybe earn your family some money with little jobs! Yeah, that's a good idea! You look around at various booth's getting setup, finally coming across one that's trying to quickly make costumes, masks, and various other fun fashion for the celebration.)

"Excuse me, uhh.. I was wondering if you might need some help? I'm a bit short on coin and could use some work if you'd be willing to have me." (Wow… you can still talk to people that aren't you family. This surprises you a bit.)

"Oh! That'd be wonderful! Come sit, I'll give you a few silver for each piece you can finish!" (The kind stranger explains, seeming very grateful for the offer.)

(You spend the rest of the day assisting the costuming one, grateful that helping Isa out for so many years made this a cinch. You keep up with your temporary employer with ease, and even carve out some wooden masks as well. The somewhat mindless act of it all helping put you at ease as the party grew ever closer.)

"Thank Change you came along when you did, I have no idea how I was gonna get all this done in time! Here, you deserve a little bonus." (They explain, handing over a sizeable coin pouch, which you graciously accept.)

"Th-Thank you! H-How much for this one by the way?" (You ask, pointing at one of the masks you made, one that's been carved into your own memory. One of those cute little trio ones that always liked to swap around.)

"Oh don't be silly, you made it! Take it, and enjoy the party!" (You nod thankfully and take it, slipping it over your face and venturing off into the crowd to hopefully blend in a bit better.)

(As you wander about, you finally find your family again, still swarmed by a cheering crowd as always. Isa and Bonnie are handling it well, Mira is trying her best.. Odile just looks like she needs a nap, heh... You relate to her very much in this moment. You lift your mask up, managing to meet Isa's gaze in the crowd. You wink, placing a finger to your mouth in a shushing gesture, then lower the mask again. Isa gets a chuckle out of that, seeming to be happy you're enjoying yourself. You caught sight of Mira trying to give you a little wave, it seems she noticed too. You chuckle and return the 'subtle' gesture. You decide to move on again before someone might end up recognizing you.)

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(You spend the rest of the evening mostly enjoying the various dishes prepared, and playing little improvised carnival games, even winning a few prizes in the process and picking up some nice little gifts you found for the party. You finally retreat back to the inn, collapsing onto your bed with a heavy sigh... You're REALLY not used to being this social, but at least this go around was a lot more favorable than the last... You get a bit of a shiver at the memory, breaking down in the middle of the crowd, ruining everyone's good time, especially your families... They deserved a celebration, so you're very glad you didn't ruin it this time.)

"Sif? You in?" (Isa asked after knocking and peeking the door open a hint.)

"Oh, yeah! Come in! I have a little surprise for you!" (You remark excitedly as you quickly sit back up, digging through your bag to find. Isa walks in with a bright smile, covered in little gifts and charms made and provided by the town's occupants.)

"I'm glad you had a good time! Shame you didn't get to be with us out there though."

"Trust me... It was much better off this way... A-Anyways! Come here! Close your eyes!" (You shout excitedly, chuckling as he almost trips, walking over with his eyes covered. You guide him to sit down next to you, moving his hand out and held open, before placing your gift upon it like a pedestal.)

"Okay, you can open em!" (He does, blinking for a moment before seeing the very lovely sewing tools in his hand. A beautifully crafted bright steel set of scissors, needles, an awl, ripper, etc. Isa just stares in awe as he looks over every inch of it all.)

"S-Sif!... Th... This is amazing!? Where did you get these?!"

"Hehe, let's just say I'm REALLY good at carnival games~"

"Sif.... I..." (Isa can't even find the words, tears starting to well up in his eyes. He can't resist any longer, suddenly pulling you into a tight hug, making you emit a sound not unlike a squeaky toy. You just hug back tightly once the initial shock passes. He pulls away some to look you in the eyes... slowly closing his... leaning in... wait... wait no, no this isn't right... this isn't how it happened, it's too soon... is this... is this wrong?... Would this ruin everything?... You're lying to him again... You're doing what you did in the loops! You're forcing it! No, no you can't do this to him again! You quickly pull yourself away at the last second, looking away in shame.)

"I-Isa… I-I'm sorry, I can't…"

"O-Oh! It's fine Sif, we can wait til you're ready, i-if you even want to at all of course! I-it's totally fine if you're not really inter-"

"No!" (You cover your mouth in shock. The word having escaped your throat violently in response to letting him thinking such a thing for even a second.)

"… N-No it's not that… I… I need to tell you something Isa… I-I've been hiding something, a-and I can't… it wouldn't be right if I didn't tell you first…"

"O-Of course Sif… You can tell me anything."

[blasphemous-lies-and-deceit]

From the touches prompt list, "touching their elbow to get their attention" with any pair you want? That prompt gets me right in the emotions cause it's such a gentle way to touch someone without getting too far into their personal space, especially if the character is skittish and the character reaching out knows and wants to make them feel safe.

"A month, Elias! And you did what, nothing?"

"I was doing everything in my power to locate you." Jon snorted at Elias's response, drawing his arms closer across his chest. He hated the way Elias was looking at him, cold and calculating, in contrast to his faux-comforting words. To think he had ever had any faith in Elias, had ever once believed his superior had his best interests in mind. Even so, it still hurt. "Everyone was working on-"

"Everyone was distracted, you mean," Gerry interrupted with a snarl, positively trembling with rage next to Jon, a black column of barely-contained fury at his side. "You knew, and you didn't tell anyone. You tried to stop me from finding him-"

"Your skills were better used elsewhere," Elias interrupted cooly, eyes darting to Gerry then back to Jon. There was still a faded bruise around his eye, a lingering reminder of Gerry's wrath. "I must remind you both that stopping the Stranger's upcoming Ritual is first priority, and I had enough faith to believe Jon wasn't in immediate danger."

"Immediate-" Jon choked on the word, feeling the rest of his words strangling in his throat. It wasn't...he hadn't been hurt, that was true, but it...it felt just like almost knocking on a door. Something awful had happened, he wasn't injured in any way but...his skin was slick with lotion and his hands were sticky with webs and he couldn't stop shaking. He couldn't explain what he was feeling and couldn't focus on what was happening and he couldn't...he couldn't...

A touch on his elbow startled him badly. Gerry didn't move his hand at all, seeming not to notice how Jon had flinched away from his touch. He was still too focused on glaring at Elias, a look of absolute hatred and betrayal on his face. "Come on Jon," he said stiffly, offering his hand again. This time, Jon didn't flinch away, letting Gerry take hold of his elbow. "We're not getting anything else out of this prick, and if I have to listen to one more excuse I will kill him." That was not a light threat, and Elias seemed to know it too, sitting back in his seat and giving Gerry a look.

"There is still more to discuss-"

"Send an email," Gerry snapped, drawing Jon towards the door. "That's all you're good for. Come on." Despite his anger, his touch was gentle, barely any force against Jon's elbow as he guided him down the hall and away from Elias. Jon focused on that one solid point connecting them, his overstimulated mind latching onto Gerry's touch, the way his fingers and palms were warm and dry, not clutching or clinging, just barely there but just enough. Jon remembered how hard Gerry's hands had been shaking when he was untying him from the chair, and their brutal cold efficiency when he'd used a crowbar to decapitate the mannequins that had tried to block their escape. No matter his rage, or his vicious strength, he was so, so careful when he touched Jon.

After stopping Melanie's latest assassination attempt on Elias, they made it back to the Archives, where the reception was...unwelcome. Jon bit his lip, trying not to take it personally. If he was in Tim or Basira's position, he probably wouldn't care if he'd been kidnapped either. Gerry coldly ignored them, steering Jon back to Document Storage and settling him on the cot before fetching the well-used first aid kit.

"Can I have your hands?" Gerry asked, kneeling on the floor next to him. "I should get bandages on your wrists, at least."

"You don't have to," Jon forced out, fighting to keep his voice steady. He felt ready to fall apart completely, to break down so he could put himself back together again, but would rather not do that in front of Gerry. He'd already been exposed too much to him, given the state he'd been found in, the shivering, naked, half-mad wretch Gerry had found in that basement. No need to make himself worse in Gerry's eyes. At the edge of his vision, he saw Gerry's hands hovering over his own, but he didn't touch.

"Jon," Gerry whispered. The rage was gone from his voice, but it still trembled slightly. "I won't touch you if you don't want me to, but...I want to take care of you. Please."

He hadn't slept in three days, Jon realized distantly, studying the deep bags under Gerry's eyes. He'd come off the plane from the States, heard Jon was missing, and hadn't stopped until he'd found him. That information was...it wasn't from him, but Jon could barely bring himself to care about that right now. All he could focus on was Gerry kneeling at his feet, asking to take his hands, wanting to help him, despite his own raggedness, despite everything. Gerry had found him.

Gerry was still there.

Gerry...

"I can't-" Jon choked on his breath, holding on by his last scrap of sanity. "I can't be touched right now, I can't-" he couldn't explain it, but he ached to touch Gerry, to comfort him as he so badly needed. It wasn't fair, he thought hysterically, that what he wanted and didn't want was the same thing, and he shouldn't be acting like this, nothing had happened, he hadn't been hurt but he couldn't explain what was wrong-

A weight settled next to him on the cot. Gerry was watching him, his eyes piercing in his deep sunken face. He wasn't reaching for Jon, was in fact sitting on his hands to keep them to himself, but Jon wanted to fling himself at him, or away from him, or...something. He wasn't sure.

"Whatever you need, Jon," Gerry whispered, aching and heavy. "Whatever you want, whatever you need from me, I'll do it. Anything."

Jon sobbed out a laugh. How could he have what he wanted from Gerry when he could barely stand the thought of being touched? He wanted to comfort Gerry, but he had no idea how. He wanted to be comforted, but he didn't deserve it. Everything was caught in his chest like webs and his skin felt slick with lotion, his wrists stung in the cold air and his fingers shook as he reached towards Gerry.

Gerry didn't say anything when Jon pulled his hand from beneath his leg. His hands were warm, and dry, his long artist fingers moving easily under Jon's. Jon breathed and shifted Gerry's hand onto his arm, feeling the weight of it against his skin. It was nothing like cold heavy plastic, didn't force itself into his space and slather him with moisturizer. Gerry was trembling with exhaustion, just as overwrought as Jon felt, but he didn't push, didn't demand that Jon get ahold of himself and get over it. He was crying too, it seemed.

"Just this," Jon whispered. "Just this, for now." Gerry nodded and shifted, leaning back against the shelf behind him. Leaving space for Jon to join, if he wished. Jon closed his eyes and let himself focus on his breath, deep and slow. His hand, warm and dry. His presence, a strong protective comfort. Gerry had found him, when no one else seemed to care. Gerry was the one who had pulled him free of that particular hell and had guided him to where it was safe. Gerry was letting him take the time to process everything, no judgement or demands. Some part of the tight feeling in Jon's chest finally loosened.

He was safe with Gerry.

[weepingchronicles]

platonic yandere strade headcanons tw/cw: strade being a whole warning himself, yandere behavior, manipulation, kidnapping, drugging, torture, slight gore, dead, reader is fucked up too!! animal death mention, cussing a/n: this may be ooc since i dont even know if it would be possible for strade to feel love at all especially platonic but lolz

Okay so I wanted to make this sort of believable for Strade which is hard since he never shows remorse or care for anything. Treating Ren as a pet is the closet we ever seen him care for someone other than himself. From what I know is that he's always been like this since he was born. It didn't stem from trauma or anything like that.. so I got the idea, what if its genetic?

I don't think Strade kills everyone he fucks, definitely hurts them but maybe a long time ago he was drunk and had a one night stand and accidentally let the girl get away.

Then years later, imagine Strade finding out he actually has a kid? To be honest, he probably wouldn't even care, maybe a little curious but wants nothing more to do with you besides knowing your name.

But when he finds out you're just like him? Dude is ecstatic!

You're definitely not as sadistic as him and have higher empathy but I imagine you learned you liked the feeling of hurting people from an early age.. liking the feeling of control. You started small, killing random rodents or prodding at dead animals you came across with morbid curiosity.

Your mother was actually good and sent you to the psychologist which helped diagnosed you. You learned that your behavior was not regular and learned methods to deal with your urges.

You don't hurt people, you might have a tiny criminal record from the time you got into a bar fight or stole a couple things but that's it.

For Strade, it doesn't matter. He gets the closest thing to familial love when it comes to you. To know that his own blood is like him creates an urge to hone that desire within you.

He quickly "reunites" with your mother and uses her to help track you down.

You had just finished your late night shift at your workplace when you notice a man smoking a cigar staring at you, leaning against his car.

You pay no mind, heading to your car. This has happened before and it always ended with them regretting walking up to you.

Right as you open the car door it is slammed shut again, this time the man smoking is right in front of you.

He has an over-charismatic smirk that you know too well, because you have it as well.

He ends up drugging and taking you back to his place, with his victims he didn't care if they got hurt, but he doesn't get that urge with you.

You wake up tied to a chair in a basement littered with utility tools, you were groggy but overall fine. What most stood out to you wasn't the coppery smell in the air or the fact you just got kidnapped but there was a girl very close to you tied up to a pole.

She is bloody and bruised, you notice an overwhelming amount of blood staining her thigh. Shame floods your mind, guilty because her blood excited you.

"Pretty sight, eh?"

You were too absorbed in your thoughts to notice the man that had kidnapped you appeared right beside you, a wide smirk on his face as he peered down at the girl.

Although he enjoyed the frightened expression and confusion on your face, he explained to you that he was your father. It made sense, you had never known your father since you were born and your mother refused to talk about him, you never knew why. Your dad being a sadistic killer seems like a pretty good reason in hindsight.

What made you angry was the fact that Strade insisted that you were the same as him. The same? You're no killer and definitely don't kidnap people just to torture them. You've learned your problems and worked through it.

That's what you tell him but Strade chuckles, petting his unconscious victims hair as he talks with you. This guy is fucking weird.

"That's what you think, but I know you and I are the same. It's a shame, you never got to experience your true desires.. until now."

You perked up at what he meant but as he untied you, you understood.

He places a knife in your hand and wakes up his victim whose already half-dead by kicking her wound.

The girl wakes up, disoriented and in pain. But now there's two people in front of her, her kidnapper and someone with a knife.

You could end this all now, stab your father bloody and get out of here- go back to your ordinary life.

"Go on, sweetheart. I know you want to hurt them as badly as I, hear them scream."

You tug the knife harder, your face riddled with concentration and debate. The girl's pleas fall deaf on your ears, the feeling of Strade comfortingly rubbing your shoulder is what makes you take the first step, then the first stab.

You blink and suddenly return to a gory mess. Whatever happened, whatever you did, it went by like a dazy dream. You return to your senses, Strade is laughing maniacally behind you and you drop the knife. You still hear the girl's last wheezes before her heart finally stops beating. You killed her, you try to justify it. Maybe it was good, you ended her pain but you could have turned the knife onto Strade yet you didn't.

Your breathing is heavy and your heart thumps for the wrong reasons- excitement.

You almost forgot Strade is still there until he comes near you and ruffles your hair- like he was congratulating his kid on their first victory score.

"'Knew you had it in you, you're going to be the perfect protégé for me."